Armadillo Distribution Enterprises has been ordered to pay more than $4million to Gibson, to reimburse its legal fees over the two brands’ long-running dispute over trademark infringing electric guitar body shapes.
Gibson filed a Rule 54 application on October 10, 2025, in a bid to reclaim its legal fees, a claim which also included a $2.34m enhancement, in part because of the complexity and specialized knowledge to tackle the case. Altogether, that would have brought the bill for Gibson's legal costs to $6,651,632.82.
The United States District Judge Amos L. Mazzant, however, rejected that, but did rule that Armadillo must pay for Gibson’s lawyer’s bill, which amounts to $3,811,026.13, plus a further $235,417.92 to cover the the costs of litigation. The Texas court ruling was made on September 25, and gave Armadillo 14 days to pay it.
The ruling comes after the legal dispute went before a second jury trial in March 2025, when the Texas court ruled largely in Gibson’s favor, protecting its SG, Explorer and Flying V body shapes, plus the word marks for the Flying V and Hummingbird.
However it, found that there had been no infringement on the ES body shape or the Dovewing headstock. Furthermore, it declared that the ES body shape was “generic”.
The jury only awarded Gibson a token $1 in damages.
Nevertheless, Gibson declared it a success. In a statement to Guitar World, Gibson described the outcome as “another major legal victory in its ongoing commitment to protecting its iconic designs.”
Judge Mazzant ruled that Gibson’s “degree of success” at the March 2025 retrial was considerable enough to grant Gibson’s Rule 54 application in part. The news is the latest plot twist in a legal battle that dates back to 2019 when Gibson sued Armadillo over alleged trademark infringement, trademark counterfeiting, unfair competition and trademark dilution.
After Gibson’s 2022 legal victory, Dean was ordered to stop manufacturing V, Z and Gran Sport electric guitars. In November 2023, Dean launched updated its lineup of V-shaped and Z-style guitars with unapologetic taglines, “Back with a Vengeance and Zero apologies,” and, “Zero f**ks given,” respectively.
Where all this leaves Dean Guitars is hard to say. In June 2026, Armadillo filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy alongside Concordia, LLC, the IP holding company for Dean. This court-supervised reorganization gives Armadillo and Concordia LLC the opportunity to restructure their financial obligations.
Pamela Keris, Armadillo owner and CEO, said the move would strengthen its financial foundation and ultimately be to the long-term benefit of its brands.
“Resolving the financial pressures of recent years allows us to focus fully on growing what we’ve built,” said Keris. “We remain fully committed to our customers, our dealer network, and our employees. Dean, Luna, and ddrum are strong brands, and this process will allow us to emerge as a more resilient organization.”
There was better legal news for Armadillo in May 2026, when it won its legal battle against Dimebag Darrell's estate.
